BARCELONA https://www.thetopsoccer.com/usa/paul-arriola-jersey , Spain (AP) — After undergoing the most thorough offseason overhaul of his squad since taking over Atlético Madrid eight years ago, coach Diego Simeone will look to a teenager to keep his team fighting for titles.It will be 19-year-old sensation João Félix, the heir apparent to Cristiano Ronaldo in Portugal, in charge of taking over the goals and attacking flare of Antoine Griezmann, the team’s main star for the last few years. Griezmann was one of the many top players who left Atlético this summer, along with defenders Diego Godín, Filipe Luís and Juanfran Torres.Félix’s elegant gliding moves are more reminiscent of former Brazil midfielder Kaka than the brute firepower of Ronaldo. But he has shown he too can score in bunches after netting 20 goals in his only season with Benfica’s main team, including one in the match in which the club clinched the Portuguese league title.Félix was the youngest player to appear in Benfica’s “B” team at 16; the youngest to score at the team’s Stadium of Light at 18; and the youngest to score a hat trick in the Europa League at 19, after the competition was re-branded in 2009.Atlético smashed its club record for a transfer to sign Félix from Benfica, paying the Portuguese club 126 million euros ($140 million). The deal was completed not long after Atlético received 120 million euros ($134 million) from Barcelona for the Griezmann transfer.Some in Spain saw it as a risky investment in a player who lacks experience and has yet to be tested in a tougher competition like the Spanish league.Atlético’s fans hope they caught a glimpse of what is in store from Félix last month when he helped deal fierce rival Real Madrid a 7-3 thrashing in a friendly match played in New Jersey. Félix impressed by scoring after setting up the first of four goals by Diego Costa. He also scored twice in a 2-1 win over Juventus in a friendly.Simeone said he plans to use Félix as a playmaker behind Costa and the team’s other pure striker, Álvaro Morata.“I see him playing with other players up front who can give him opportunities to do damage with his vision of the game,” Simeone said after the drubbing of Madrid. “When you have his talent and his desire to improve, you can play anywhere (on the pitch).”NEW DEFENSEThe main loss defensively was Godín Zack Steffen Jersey , the central defender who anchored the team’s backline for nine years and embodied the super competitive, workmanlike spirit that Simeone preaches to his players. He is now gone along with Lucas Hernández and veterans Filipe Luís and Torres, leaving José Giménez as the only remaining starter from recent years.Atlético has brought in center backs Felipe Monteiro from Porto and Mario Hermoso from Espanyol, along with right back Kieran Trippier from Tottenham and left back Renan Lodi from Athletico Paranaense.After losing Rodri Hernández to Manchester City, Atlético reinforced the midfield with two Porto players — Mexico’s Héctor Herrera and Marcos Llorente, who lacked playing time at Real Madrid. Both should help Jorge “Koke” Resurrección focus his energies on feeding passes to his forwards and allow Saúl Ñíguez to push forward in attack.Simeone’s challenge will be making all these new pieces fit in a team that failed to win a major title last season and still aspires to repeat its 2014 Spanish league title and, one day, capture that elusive Champions League crown.“I am very happy with all my new players,” Simeone said. “Felipe is growing, as is Hermoso, each one from their position to achieve something that is not easy: to mesh all these new parts together so that we can be ready to face what lies ahead, which won’t be easy.”Atletico’s league opener will be against Getafe on Sunday. Atletico will likely be without Costa because of a left thigh injury. North Korea and South Korea have been drawn together in an Asian qualifying group as the road to soccer’s 2022 World Cup in Qatar became clearer Wednesday.The Korean neighbors will play each other north of the border on Oct. 15 and in the south on June 4 in the five-nation Group H that includes Lebanon, Turkmenistan and Sri Lanka.In 2008 Cheap Soccer Jerseys , North Korea twice played home World Cup qualifiers against South Korea in China because it refused to raise its opponents’ flag or play their anthem in Pyongyang, as FIFA rules required.Relations between the two soccer federations are better now, and FIFA has encouraged a combined Korean bid to host the 2023 Women’s World Cup.Wednesday’s draw involving 40 national teams was sure to test some political sensitivities, and Saudi Arabia and Yemen were also put in the same group.A Saudi-led coalition allied with Yemen’s government has been at war with rebel Houthis that has killed tens of thousands of people since 2015.It seems unlikely Yemen can host the Saudis on Sept. 10 on home soil, or for games against any of its three other opponents. For the 2018 World Cup qualifying program, Yemen played home games in Doha, Qatar, for security reasons.The Saudis, which played at the 2018 World Cup in Russia, are top-seeded in Group D that also has Uzbekistan, Palestine and Singapore.For the first time in 30 years, Iraq can begin a World Cup qualifying program expecting to host all its home games instead of seeking neutral venues due to a FIFA ban for sanctions or security reasons.Iraq, which will host top-ranked Iran on Nov. 14 Cheap AC Milan Soccer Shirts , played “home” qualifiers for the 2018 World Cup in Iran, Jordan and Malaysia. The neighbors meet in Group C which also has Bahrain, Hong Kong and Cambodia.The eight five-team groups play from September through June. Group winners and the four best runners-up advance to another group stage, played from September 2020 to October 2021. Those 12 teams also qualify for the 2023 Asian Cup.Four Asian teams will qualify directly for the 32-team World Cup. A fifth nation can advance to Qatar in an intercontinental playoff round in March 2022.United Arab Emirates is top-seeded in a Group G loaded with Southeast Asian derbies, involving Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia.There was growing laughter in the draw room at Asian Football Confederation headquarters in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, as balls drawn by Australia great Tim Cahill continued to join the regional neighbors together.Australia, which plays in the Asian region, will play Jordan, Taiwan, Kuwait and Nepal in Group B.World Cup host Qatar also plays as this group stage doubles up as qualifiers for the 2023 Asian Cup Cheap Arsenal Soccer Jerseys , when it will defend the continental title in China. Qatar will play Oman, India, Afghanistan, Bangladesh in Group E.China has a great chance to advance as it begins a potentially huge era for its growing soccer ambitions.Coached once again by Italy’s 2006 title-winning veteran Marcello Lippi, China is top-seeded in Group A with war-torn Syria — which has played qualifiers in neutral Malaysia — Philippines, Maldives and Guam.China seeks to qualify for the 2022 World Cup while preparing to host the 2023 Asian Cup and likely bidding as the expected favorite to host the 2030 World Cup.Japan starts its path to a seventh straight World Cup tournament in Group F with Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Myanmar and Mongolia.The Korean derbies will be the first in World Cup qualifying for more than a decade. Then, the teams were grouped together in back-to-back rounds as both advanced to the 2010 tournament in South Africa.Both North Korea’s home games were played in Shanghai when then-leader Kim Jong Il’s government declined to play by FIFA protocol rules.The global 2022 qualifying program — more than 800 games to decide 31 qualifiers joining Qatar — began in Asia with preliminary games in June.Asia is also the first continental body to begin setting its groups. Africa’s confederation will draw its first games next week and kick off in September.European soccer body UEFA is scheduled to pick its format for deciding 13 qualifying places in September. The 55 European teams begin World Cup qualifying groups in March 2021.In the North American region CONCACAF, the United States and Mexico are set to be in a group of six top-ranked teams playing for three guaranteed places from September 2020.The 2022 World Cup will be played Nov. 21-Dec. 18 to avoid the searing desert heat in Qatar’s summer. FIFA confirmed only last month it would have 32 teams, after its push for a 48-team tournament was resisted.Qatar is spending tens of billions of dollars preparing stadiums and infrastructure despite an ongoing political and economic boycott by neighbors, including Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
